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The Junior Report: Oil Kings Gain Final Playoff Berth in W.H.L.

By Mark Pargas March 18, 2009 11:32 amMarch 18, 2009 11:32 am

The folks out west are already talking about the Battle of Alberta, but according to The Edmonton Journal, the fans there are preparing for the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs and a matchup featuring the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Calgary Hitmen.

Calgary is the the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, as well as the W.H.L. regular-season champion. The Oil Kings? Well, they had to go on the road and defeat the Prince Albert Raiders in overtime, 2-1, in a tie-breaker playoff just to gain the final berth in the Eastern Conference.

According to The Journal, Oil Kings Coach Steve Pleau did not see the winning goal, which Rhett Rachinski scored at 8:54 of overtime. But assistant coach Rocky Thompson did give Pleau an idea that Edmonton was moving on to the playoffs.

“We just kept jamming the net with pucks and it finally went in,” Pleau told The Journal. “I saw the red light come on, the ref point to center ice and then Rocky threw me up against the glass. What a great feeling.”

And now the work begins with the W.H.L. playoffs slated to open Thursday when the Hitmen play host to the Oil Kings. The rest of the playoff series begin Friday.

Patrick King of Sportsnet.ca offers his darkhorse candidates in each league and has taken a longer look at what he considers the top playoff pairing in each league. And here is the fourth article in The Globe and Mail’s five-part series on junior hockey and what it all means.

The complete W.H.L. pairings, along with the rest of the junior report, is after the jump.

The story on the Oil Kings/Raiders playoff game is here. The story on the Chiefs/Americans game is here. The final standings are here. The links to the leaders in scoring and goaltending are here.

The pairings and schedules for the first round of the W.H.L. playoffs are as follows (*-games will be played, if necessary):

Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Calgary Hitmen
Thursday: at Calgary
Sunday: at Calgary
March 23: at Edmonton
March 25: at Edmonton
March 27: at Edmonton*
March 29: at Calgary*
March 31: at Calgary*

Lethbridge Hurricanes vs. Saskatoon Blades
Friday: at Saskatoon
Saturday: at Saskatoon
March 24: at Lethbridge
March 25: at Lethbridge
March 28: at Saskatoon*
March 30: at Lethbridge*
April 1: at Saskatoon*

Kootenay Ice at Brandon Wheat Kings
Friday: at Brandon
Saturday: at Brandon
March 24: at Kootenay
March 25: at Kootenay
March 27: at Brandon*
March 29: at Kootenay*
March 31: Brandon (at Winnipeg)*

Medicine Hat Tigers at Swift Current Broncos
Friday: at Swift Current
Saturday: at Swift Current
March 24: at Medicine Hat
March 25: at Medicine Hat
March 27: at Swift Current*
March 29: at Medicine Hat*
March 31: at Swift Current*

Prince George Cougars vs. Vancouver Giants
Friday: at Vancouver
Saturday: at Vancouver
March 24: at Prince George
March 25: at Prince George
March 27: at Vancouver*
March 29: at Prince George*
March 31: at Vancouver*

Everett Silvertips at Tri-City Americans
Friday: at Tri-City
Saturday: at Tri-City
March 25: at Everett
March 27: at Everett
March 28: at Tri-City*
March 30: at Everett*
April 1: at Tri-City*

Kamloops Blazers at Kelowna Rockets
Friday: at Kelowna
Saturday: at Kelowna
March 24: at Kamloops
March 25: at Kamloops
March 27: at Kelowna*
March 28: at Kamloops*
March 31: at Kelowna*

Seattle Thunderbirds vs. Spokane Chiefs
Friday: at Spokane
Saturday: at Spokane
March 24: at Seattle
March 25: at Seattle
March 27: at Spokane*
March 29: at Seattle*
March 31: at Spokane*

Ontario Hockey League

The preview of the Eastern Conference pairings is here. The O.H.L. playoffs begin tonight with two games. Sudbury is at Belleville and Owen Sound is at Windsor.

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

Each playoff series in the Q.M.J.H.L. is scheduled to begin Friday night. Here is a link to the final standings for goaltenders, with Nicola Riopel of the Moncton Wildcats as the top overall goaltender in the league.

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